The Indian Navy inducted its third ship of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK-IV at Port Blair. Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command commissioner the ship as INCLU L53 into the Indian Navy. The LCU MK-IV is designed and built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, based in Kolkata. The ship which is completely home designed and built indigenously comes as a huge boost for the Make in India initiative.
The LCU MK-IV is an amphibious ship, which has the capacity to transport Main Battle Tanks (MBT) such as Soviet made t-72, t-90 and MBT Arjun MK-II. This amphibious ship can also be fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and other weapon systems as well. Advanced systems such the Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) can also be attached to the ship. A senior official from the Navy also told the media that the indigenous CRN 91 Gun with Stabilised Optronic Pedestal could be attached to the ship, which will be helpful in carrying out offensive operations.
The ship LCU MK-IV has a displacement of 830 tons, a maximum speed of 15 knots and an endurance limit of more than 1500 nautical miles. The ship which is driven by twin-propeller fixed-pitch propulsion system and is powered by the MTU 16V 4000 M53 marine diesel engine has immense potential for conducting patrolling exercise as well, read a statement from the Ministry of Defence.
The ship which is also capable of carrying 160 additional troops, will have five complement officers and a total of 45 sailors on board. It will be based in Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It will be constantly be engaging in multi-role activities like beach operations, HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) missions and will also carry out reconnaissance operations in the islands of Bay of Bengal.
The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers are currently building other five ships. The remaining ships will are in the advanced stage and are scheduled to be inducted into Indian Navy by next year and one a half, said a Defence Ministry statement.